This Ride
by C.R. Sage
Summary: OC moves to Arizona. Meets Max and the flock. Full summary inside. Rated T for language. Fax OCxIggy Nazzy


**Hello! I'm here with another series for you all. I know a bunch of people have done them but I don't really care too much. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one because this has kept me up at all hours of the night and early in the morning…so yeah. Enjoy!**

**Full Summary**

**Her day did not come to a good start. On her way to school, Max's motorcycle breaks down on the side of an Arizona highway. With her phone dead, she is out of luck until the new girl shows up. Meanwhile, Sage, having lived in Virginia her whole life moves to Arizona. Now she must restart from scratch after leaving the only life she knew. With a little kindness, some luck, and help from her new friends, she must work to make the Phoenix area a new home. **

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Chapter 1: 

Sage POV

"Beeeep Beeep Beeep" my alarm blurted as it signaled the beginning of a new day. My first day at school here in Arizona. I groaned as I walked across the room and slid the switch that turned the obnoxious sound off. It was six in the morning and I was not thrilled to be up early after a long summer where I wasn't up until after 8.

I proceeded to my new bathroom which was attached to my room. Actually, my room was an income part of the house that had been used by the last owners to rent out. It had a kitchen, which was fully updated with stainless appliances and granite countertops, complete with a very cool island. It even had its own door to the driveway. As for living space, there wasn't much. It was just big enough to fit my bed and my flat screen which was all I needed because I already found the place a bit lonely.

Anyway, I went to bathroom, turned on my radio to find the local radio station playing Speed of Sound by Coldplay, my favorite band, and brushed my teeth. I hummed to the song while brushing, loving how it's lively tune seemed to fit the start of the day. A few strokes of a brush to my shoulder length brown hair and bit of eyeliner to my hazel eyes and I was good to go.

I proceeded to pick out my clothes which consisted of a purple t-shirt and some dark wash capris, grabbed my vintage brown Mudd brand bag and my guitar and I headed out of my room.

I walked out to the house's main kitchen, grabbed some chocolate chip Pop-Tarts and placed them in the toaster. I then went to the fridge and poured myself a glass of milk. I looked out one of the windows to find that my dad's truck was still in the driveway, which was a surprise. I could have sworn he was going to work today.

After finishing my breakfast, I remembered that I needed my phone and iPod so I walked back towards my room. As I passed my dad's room, I took a moment to peer into the darkness. I found his still form on his bed, eyes looking toward his closet. "Good Morning" I said.

"Hey Sage" he said tiredly.

"What are you doing home? I sorta thought you'd be at work" I said.

"Hunter called from the airport last night. He said the flight was cancelled and that he'd take the next flight out today. So I'm staying home"

"Oh," Hunter's my 13 year old brother. When we'd move from Virginia, he'd decided to stay behind to help pack the rest of our stuff while in the mean time staying with our mom. My parents are divorced and mom couldn't really afford to follow us out to Arizona so she'd had to stay behind. It didn't really affect me much only that we didn't get to see her as often.

"Hey Sage, I gotta get some sleep. I stayed up for a long time waiting on Hunter and I didn't crash until about 1."

"Okey dokey. But hey dad?"

"Yeah"

"Remind me again why we moved to Arizona."

Dad sighed and I could tell that he just wanted me to leave and go to school so he could sleep. But he still answered the question. "We moved for better opportunities, Sage. I wanted a better work environment, and for you and Hunter and to start over again. Arizona has these and so here we are."

There was no need to say anything. Back in Virginia, I had always heard Dad complain about his terrible work conditions. He would complain about how the working conditions weren't suitable and how he wouldn't even will animals to work in them. He'd always complain about how hot the building was and how he got headaches from some of the fumes one time. I really hated to listen to that so hopefully here, things would be different.

I walked back to my room, grabbed my phone, my iPod, and a few other things, including my keys to my silver hatchback Nissan Versa and headed back toward the kitchen. From there, I grabbed my bag and guitar, put on my navy blue Keds and headed out the front door.

I opened the trunk, placed my bag and guitar in it, and, after closing the hatch, slid into the driver's seat and fired up the ignition. As backed out, I tried to remember how much money I had and whether that would be enough to buy some coffee from Starbucks. A quick glance at the clock on the dash revealed that I would be early to school, even with the coffee detour.

As I drove, I tried to remember all the things about my new school and how to get there, all while making note of all the stores that resided in the town of Avondale which was where Dad had decided to move us. I found it a nice little suburb, and happy that it wasn't exactly in Phoenix but not exactly in the middle of nowhere either.

A quick turn onto interstate 10 and I was off to my new school, which was in the outskirts of the next town over. It was called the Lerner School for Gifted Children and it supported those in both middle school and high school. I was able to get in because I was a nationally recognized scholar and they gave us a huge discount to get me in. Hunter was also able to get in on his academics. Its dress code involved uniforms that I had forgotten to order until yesterday so I'd be sticking out like a sore thumb once I got there.

As I drove, I came up on a broken down motorcycle on the side of the highway. As I looked closer, I saw a girl with blond hair, wearing one of Lerner's lady uniforms. The bike looked to be in bad shape and the girl looked distressed. I sighed and pulled my car over to the shoulder.

Max POV

Great, just great. I hadn't even gotten to school and already, bad luck was hitting me. I hadn't even been on the interstate for two minutes before my bike started sputtering and when I'd pulled over, it just shut off. I tried a million times to get it turn on again but it would not.

To make matters worse, my phone was dead. I could not call my mom for help and I really couldn't walk to anywhere. I sighed. God this sucks.

When I looked at the road, I saw a silver car, like a Nissan of some sort slow down as it passed me, though it was still going fast enough to where I couldn't see the driver. But it got slower and slower until it came onto the shoulder. Crap. Hopefully this wasn't some idiot looking to steal something from me or whatever.

I looked carefully at the car. It was, in fact, a Nissan. A Nissan Versa to be exact. I also noticed that it had Virginia tags which were highly unusual as we were thousands of miles away from there. I eyed the driver side carefully and when it opened, it was not man. It was girl. She had brown hair that barely came down to her shoulders, a nice slender figure and she wore blue jeans and a purple top. She approached me, walking slowly. "Hi, um do you need help?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Do you go Lerner?"

Again, I nodded, wondering how she knew about it.

"Hi, I'm Sage. Sage Sallers. I just moved here from Virginia and today's my first day at Lerner. I noticed you on the side of the road and I thought that maybe I could help?" she said cautiously.

Ok…not what I was expecting. But she seemed honest and non threatening. I decided to trust her for now. "I'm Max. Maximum Martinez." I said, holding out my hand.

"Nice to meet you. I have a phone if you want to borrow it. The number is an area code from VA so yeah. And I think I also have a toolbox in the trunk."

"Thank you." I said, feeling glad that she had stopped. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to me. "I don't think I'll need the tools. I'll just call my mom and have call to have the bike towed."

"Ok. Um do you maybe need a ride to school?" She asked. It was nice that she was offering and I really didn't want to hang around and wait for the tow truck. Not to mention how long it would take once we got to the shop, the whole getting a ride from the shop to school, etc. I decided to take her up on that.

"Yeah ok." I said. I dialed my mom's number.

"Hello?" came her answer.

"Mom, its Max. Listen my bike broke down on the side of the highway. Can you call a tow truck?"

"Yeah honey sure. Who's cell phone is this?"

"This is the phone of a new student who just moved here. She's harmless. I don't wanna deal with the whole thing so I'm gonna ride to school with her."

"Ok" she said, sounding a little uncertain.

"I'll be fine, Mom. Just trust me"

"I will" she said.

"Tell them the bike's at mile marker 125.7. And if they arrive to find it's not there, call the school and get me there ok?"

"Alright honey. I love you"

"Love you too" I said. With that, I hung up and handed the phone back to the girl, Sage. "Thanks"

She smiled. "No problem."

I glanced at my watch. "We should get going."

"Yeah," she said and we headed to her car. I climbed into the passenger seat, with Sage in the driver's side. She put the key into the ignition and we were off.

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**So did ya like it? Whatcha think? Let me know! Again, I know this is overused but I really wanted to do this. Also, I need a beta for this story. If you want the job, let me know! Read and Review (if you want more chapters in less time)**

**~C.R. Sage**


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